Using logistic regression to merge mineral resource databases

The purpose of this project was to develop and test a methodology for determining the likelihood that mineral resource location records from two nationwide mineral resource information databases represent the same site. The long-term goal is to create a comprehensive database by merging the Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS) of the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Mineral Availability System/Mineral Industry Location System (MAS/MILS) of the U.S. Bureau of Mines (now part of the Geological Survey). Part of that process involves linking records for the same site from each database. Match probabilities were estimated using a logistic regression of mineral resource location attributes, derived from known matched (cross-referenced) and known unmatched randomly sampled mineral site pairs from within the conterminous United States (n=10,000). Model accuracy was assessed using a randomly sampled test dataset, not used in logistic model development (n=4,000). Probability distributions were similar between the development and test datasets. The overall agreement beyond chance was good for the test data set using the kappa statistic. Classification accuracy was 89.6% for known matched site pairs and 84.0% for known unmatched site pairs based on a probability threshold of 0.50 for a match. Distributions of attributes were similar between the development and test datasets. This classification method is a viable approach for estimating match probabilities between database records.     

Deformation of poorly consolidated sediment during shallow emplacement of a basalt sill,Coso Range,California

A 150-m-long, wedge-shaped unit of folded and faulted marly siltstone crops out between undeformed sedimentary rocks on the north flank of the Coso Range, California. The several-meter-thick blunt end of this wedge abuts the north margin of a basaltic sill of comparable thickness. Chaotically deformed siltstone crops out locally at the margin of this sill, and at one locality breccia pipes about one meter in diameter crosscut the sill. The sill extends about 1 km south up the paleoslope, where it merges through continuous outcrop with a lava flow that in turn extends 1.4 km to a vent area marked by more than 100 m of agglutinate and scoria. Apparently, lava extruded at this vent flowed onto unconsolidated sediments, burrowed into them, and fed a sill at about 40 m depth within the sedimentary sequence. The sill initially propagated by wedging between sedimentary beds, but eventually began to push some beds ahead of itself, forming a remarkable train of folds in the process. The sediments apparently were wet at the time of sill emplacement, because hydrothermal alteration is common near the contact between the two rock types and because the breccia pipes that crosscut the sill apparently resulted from phreatic explosions of pore water heated at the base of the cooling sill. Comparison of deformation of the host material at the Coso locality with that reportedly caused by emplacement of sills elsewhere indicates that the character of deformation differs greatly among the various localities. The specific response of host material depends upon such parameters as initial properties of magma and host material, rate of sill growth and attendant rate of strain of host material, and depth of sill emplacement. Some properties may change considerably during an intrusive-deformational episode, thus complicating accurate reconstruction of such an event.     

Organic carbon and cation associations in humic material from pond water and sediment

Organic matter was isolated from the water columns and sediments of two pond systems in the south-eastern United States. Water column material was ultrafiltered to provide three fractions, i.e. <0.45 μm, but > 50,000 daltons; <50,000 daltons, but > 5000 daltons; and <5000 daltons. Sedimentary organic matter was separated into humic acid and fulvic acid fractions based on solubility criteria and the humic acid fraction was ultrafiltered to provide the same fractions as the water column isolates. All fractions were analysed for organic carbon, Al, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg and Mn. Infra-red spectra were also measured for the sedimentary organic fractions. Organic matter isolated from the water column of the two ponds had similar organic carbon and elemental distributions, as did the organic matter isolated from the two sediments. However, significant differences in the organic carbon and elemental distributions were observed for water column and sedimentary organic matter isolated from the same pond. These studies have relevance to diagenetic alterations of organic matter and geochemical cycles of elements within lakes.     

Characteristics of summertime daily rainfall variability over South America and the South Atlantic Convergence Zone

Summary ?This paper presents an objective analysis of the structure of daily rainfall variability over the South American/South Atlantic region (15°–60° W and 0°–40° S) during individual austral summer months of November to March. From EOF analysis of satellite derived daily rainfall we find that the leading mode of variability is represented by a highly coherent meridional dipole structure, organised into 2 extensive bands, oriented northwest to southeast across the continent and Atlantic Ocean. We argue that this dipole structure represents variability in the meridional position of the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ). During early and later summer, in the positive (negative) phase of the dipole, enhanced (suppressed) rainfall over eastern tropical Brazil links with that over the subtropical and extra-tropical Atlantic and is associated with suppressed (enhanced) rainfall over the sub-tropical plains and adjacent Atlantic Ocean. This structure is indicative of interaction between the tropical, subtropical and temperate zones. Composite fields from NCEP reanalysis products (associated with the major positive and negative events) show that in early and late summer the position of the SACZ is associated with variability in: (a) the midlatitude wave structure, (b) the position of the continental low, and (c) the zonal position of the South Atlantic Subtropical High. Harmonic analysis of the 200 hPa geopotential anomaly structure in the midlatitudes indicates that reversals in the rainfall dipole structure are associated primarily with variability in zonal wave 4. There is evidence of a wave train extending throughout the midlatitudes from the western Pacific into the SACZ region. During positive (negative) events the largest anomalous moisture advection occurs within westerlies (easterlies) primarily from Amazonia (the South Atlantic). In both phases a convergent poleward flow results along the leading edge of the low-level trough extending from the tropics into temperate latitudes. High summer events differ from those in early and late summer in that the rainfall dipole is primarily associated with variability in the phase of zonal wave 3, and that tropical-temperate link is not clearly evident in positive events. Received May 31, 2001; revised October 17, 2001; accepted June 13, 2002     

Designing Monitoring Programs to Effectively Evaluate the Performance of Natural Attenuation

Natural attenuation processes affect the fate and transport of organic compounds in many hydrologic systems. Over the last several years, regulatory agencies and environmental professionals have come to recognize the importance of these natural processes in effecting contaminant attenuation. When they are shown to be protective of human health and the environment, and when a well-designed monitoring program is in place to document the efficiency of these processes, they can be a valuable component of site remediation strategies.